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Screen Producers Ireland AGM and Election of New Board Members

Thu 23 Jun 2016

Press Release

23rd June 2016

Screen Producers Ireland, the representative body for the indigenous film, TV and animation sector, held an AGM today (23rd June) and elected four new members to the Board of Directors. The AGM also incorporated a panel discussion focusing on sustainable enterprise models in the production sector. The SPI Annual Report was launched on the day, giving an overview of industry funding and publishing SPI's policy position papers for the sector.

Speaking at the event, John Hennessy, SPI Chairman, stated, “We are delighted to welcome the four newly elected members of the Board, (Naoise Barry of Pinewood Productions Ireland, Paul Timpson of Light Cube, Paddy Hayes of Magamedia and Maggie Breathnach of Red Shoe Productions). We are certain that their significant industry experience and expertise will be of huge benefit to the organisation. We would also like to thank the outgoing board members for their service and commitment to SPI.”

“Ireland has a rich and valuable Cultural Heritage. Audiovisual production plays an important role in creating that cultural heritage. Through audiovisual production, a collection of content is created which captures, preserves and chronicles what it means to be Irish. With recent successes and many accolades around the world, Ireland can be rightly proud of its screen based creative industries. At today’s AGM, we heard from a panel of leading producers on the topic of building sustainable enterprise models for production companies. We believe that sessions such as this are critically important to allow producers to share best practice advice and experience.”

Barbara Galavan, SPI CEO, added, “The SPI Annual Report, launched today, analysed the funding landscape for the sector in 2015. TV Drama remains the outstanding contributor to production activity with an average S481 certified Irish Expenditure of €100M per annum over the last three years. Film grew in 2014 and 2015 with an average certified Irish Expenditure of €41M per annum. These results indicate that the industry remains resilient, despite the turbulence of recent years.”

“Our analysis identified an acute need for increased capital funding for the Irish Film Board and for License Fee reform. Both these issues form key policy priorities for SPI in 2016. We have also identified a number of other policy changes which would support the industry and will be working hard to influence change in these areas. Indigenous productions have a significant cultural and economic impact on the Irish economy but could be assisted in increasing their value through targeted policy changes. We will continue to communicate this message to policymakers and to collaborate with all stakeholders to mobilise our vision for a strong audiovisual industry.”